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British manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in April, reaching a three-year low, according to a survey that suggested the economy is slowing before the country's referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Union.

PHOTO: AFP

[LONDON] British manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in April, reaching a three-year low, according to a survey that suggested the economy is slowing before the country's referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Union.

The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 49.2 in April from 50.7 in March - the first time since March 2013 it has fallen below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

It was also short of the lowest forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, which called for a slight decline, to 50.5. The median forecast was for a rise to 51.2.

As well as uncertainty about the June 23 EU referendum, factories faced a weaker global economy and a slowdown in the oil and gas industry, a major customer for British manufacturers.

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"With this backdrop unlikely to change in the coming months, the second quarter is likely to remain a bleak landscape for (the) industry," Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compilers Markit, said.